All language subtitles for The UnXplained S06E10 Monsters Among Us 1080p HULU WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264-playWEB_track4_[eng]

WILLIAM SHATNER: A demon
born in the dead of night.

An insatiable monster
hiding in the ocean's depths.

And a violent swamp beast

terrorizing an entire town.

Since the dawn of humanity,
tales of monstrous creatures

lurking in the shadows
of our world

have sparked both
fascination and fear.

Today, we often dismiss
these accounts as the stuff

of myth and legend,

but are we overlooking a
potentially terrifying reality?

With scientists discovering

as many as 18,000 new
animal species every year...

isn't it conceivable
that there could be real-life

flesh and blood monsters

living among us?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

♪ ♪

In southern New Jersey,
a vast sea of trees

stretches as far
as the eye can see.

Below the dense canopy of these
woods lies a primeval world

filled with ominous
sights and sounds

that are shrouded
by dark undergrowth.

This foreboding wilderness
is known

as the Pine Barrens.

The Pine Barrens is basically
a million acres of woodland

in the southern tip
of New Jersey.

You can essentially get lost
in the Pine Barrens

and never be seen again

because they are just so vast.

At nighttime, you can hear
animals crunching all around.

But the problem is you can't
see where these things are.

It's a terrifying place.

And it's very, very scary,

especially if you're
lost there by yourself.

(owl hoots)

SHATNER:
The Pine Barrens is home to over 500 animal species.

But according to locals,
there is one creature

said to dwell here that has yet
to be officially identified.

It's a grotesque,
winged monster that is known

as the Jersey Devil.

The New Jersey Devil
legend is ingrained

into the state
of New Jersey so much.

It's something that every kid
hears when they're growing up.

The Jersey Devil's
gonna come and get you.

One of the most famous aspects
of the Jersey Devil

is its horrific screech or roar.

(creature screeches)

If you hear something like that
in the Pine Barrens,

you run.

(creature screeches)

CHAD LEWIS:
The Jersey Devil looks like it should have come out

of Dr. Frankenstein's lab.

It's a hodgepodge
of animal parts.

It has a horse's head
with horns growing out of it,

a long dragon or kangaroo body,

ending in thin, long
bird legs and hooves,

a forked tail on its back.

It has giant leather
bat-like wings on its back.

If you were to describe
something out of a nightmare,

the Jersey Devil
would be that description.

SHATNER:
Could a winged abomination

really lurk somewhere
in the Pine Barrens?

Perhaps clues can be found
by examining the origin story

of this fearsome monster
that has been spoken of

in local lore
for more than 250 years.

(creature screeches)

SHATNER:
As the story goes, in 1735,

inside a small house
in Leeds Point, New Jersey,

a woman gave birth
to her unlucky 13th child.

And when it was born,
it became a monster.

According to tradition,
the Jersey Devil

is actually the 13th child

of a woman known
as Mother Leeds.

And she is on record
as having 12 children.

So, the story that we get
is that, when Mother Leeds

was giving birth
to this purported 13th child,

she apparently, legend says,

cried out,
"The devil can take this one."

And she initially gave birth

to a healthy, happy baby boy,

who almost immediately
transformed

into this demon-like creature.

(creature screeches)

Some stories say
that Mother Leeds was killed

after the baby was born,
by the baby.

Other stories just say
he flew up the chimney

and into the Pine Barrens.

SHATNER:
Skeptics are quick to dismiss the story of a devil

born of human flesh,
but after this alleged event,

entirely new tales
of the monster

started to surface
in South Jersey.

...in the early 1800s,

a military officer
of great distinction

was said to have had
a firsthand encounter

with the Jersey Devil.

The Jersey Devil has had
run-ins with many

famous people over the years,

such as
Commodore Stephen Decatur.

He was a famous naval war hero,

and he came across
the Jersey Devil

flying overhead.

He fired a cannon
at the Jersey Devil.

And, according to
some eyewitnesses,

he shot a hole
through one of its wings,

but it just flew away
like nothing had happened.

McNEILL:
Naval Commodore Stephen Decatur spoke openly about this.

So, when a prominent person
comes forward to say,

"Oh, no, absolutely, I saw this,
you know, strange horse-faced,

winged, dragon-like creature,
and I shot a cannonball at it,"

that impresses itself upon us
in a way that kind of says,

"Wait a minute, okay."

The pattern of belief here
is so consistent.

SHATNER:
By the turn of the 20th century, belief in the existence

of the Jersey Devil had
long been part of local culture.

But then, during the week
of January 16, 1909,

an unprecedented avalanche
of Jersey Devil sightings

surfaced in the
numerous communities

bordering the Pine Barrens.

And for the first time,
this demonic creature terrified

not just the residents
of New Jersey

but also newspaper readers
across the United States.

1909 is really a key year

for the Jersey Devil story

because what we see happen

is really what amounts to

just an absolute panic.

There starts to be report

after report after report

of people encountering
the Jersey Devil,

shooting at it...

...seeing its hoofprints
on top of their chicken coops

and their farm buildings.

People are sheltering in place

because of the Jersey Devil.

One of the more dramatic
sightings involved

a trolley car
in Haddon Heights, New Jersey

that was allegedly dive-bombed
by the creature.

When accounts of these
Jersey Devil sightings

and attacks surfaced
in local newspapers,

it actually caused
mass hysteria.

Local businesses and schools
were shut down.

The Philadelphia Zoo
offered a reward of $10,000

for the creature's capture,

and vigilance committees
and posses were formed

to hunt the creature.

HEIMBUCH:
I do think because of the sheer amounts of accounts

that happened in 1909,

of course some of them are
not gonna be true. Absolutely.

But the fact that so many
of them happened,

I really believe
that there were some

actual Jersey Devil encounters
during this time.

SHATNER:
The panic of 1909

immortalized the Jersey Devil

in both national
and local history.

But curiously,
Native American lore suggests

that the origins of this
Pine Barrens monster

may actually go back much
further into the distant past.

In this part of the world,
before the arrival of colonists,

the tribes that lived here
were the Lenape,

and they referred to this part
of the world-- the Pine Barrens

of what is now New Jersey--
as "the place of the dragon."

So, the presence of a creature

in this place of the dragon

has been recorded
long into the past.

We really do see two different
cultural understandings

of this place coming together

in the idea that
there's a creature here

that maybe looks
a little bit like a dragon.

HEIMBUCH:
Whether or not you believe

the Jersey Devil
theories or legends,

he existed well before
any of that stuff existed,

and it's a big part
of the state's identity.

The Pine Barrens
is such a huge, vast place

that, absolutely,
a creature can live there

and not ever be seen by anyone

for the rest
of their entire lives,

which kind of leads credence
to the theory that

this creature does exist.

(creature screeches)

SHATNER: Population: 733.

This small town near
the eastern border of Texas

appears similar
to hundreds of other

rural communities in the region.

A single highway
cuts through town,

which is surrounded
by vast woods,

creeks,

and acres of
mosquito-ridden swampland.

Fouke, Arkansas
is thousands of acres

of very swampy area.

And within that,

there is plenty of places
that creatures

could find seclusion
and could easily survive.

The woods and the swampy bottoms

are just so thick that

they could travel
through these woods

and not be seen, uh, very much,
if at all.

SHATNER:
This rugged landscape is teeming with wildlife,

but according to locals,

there is a massive,
monstrous creature

that stands out from all others,

because it bears
an uncanny resemblance

to a human.

They call it the Fouke Monster.

LEWIS:
By physical description,

the Fouke Monster--

it's very large--
seven to ten feet tall,

very thick,
long, matted-down hair,

usually dark brown
or a reddish tint.

It's a biped walking and running
upright on its hind legs.

BLACKBURN:
The creature is often known

to elicit a frightening howl.

(creature howling)

It's often said

to have
a very terrible, rank odor.

It's said to be similar
to a Bigfoot,

yet more scraggly,

more rugged looking,

and witnesses often have a very

emotional reaction because
of the fear of this creature.

SHATNER:
It's estimated that there have been hundreds

of sightings
of the Fouke Monster,

dating back to the 1800s.

And locals are convinced

that tangible evidence
of the beast exists.

Over the years, people have made
numerous plaster casts

of unusually large footprints

said to have been left
by the massive creature.

Today, many of them
are preserved

in a town museum
known as the Monster Mart.

STATNER:
Are these strange footprints proof

that a giant, hairy beast
roams the swamplands

of Southwest Arkansas?

Perhaps.
But, of course,

many residents
don't need convincing,

because they claim

to have actually seen
the Fouke Monster

with their own eyes.

Back in the early '70s,

my friend Karen
and I were riding

in the back of a pickup truck.

And all of a sudden,

we saw this thing step out
from behind a big tree.

It was probably
about three and a half feet

across the shoulders.

And it turned
and took another step

and was gone
into the plum thicket.

That's why we never went
in the woods anymore after that,

'cause we...
we knew how big it was,

and that thing could snap you
like a twig.

DOYLE HOLMES:
About 2004, I'm in a little canoe,

and I hear splashes.

I could see the image,

the silhouette
of something with two legs

standing up.

This thing was hairy.
It's big legs, big trunk.

It was very impressive-looking.

After a while,
he just turned around

and just walked off
in the marsh,

and I didn't see him again.

Now, I, at that point,
never believed in the monster,

or that there was
something else out there.

But my mind started getting open

to the possibility
at that point.

SHATNER:
For the residents of Fouke, Arkansas,

the possibility
that an unidentified creature

could dwell in their midst
is simply part of living

in this rural community.

And many believe
that the monster is

not only real,
but also quite dangerous.

The most infamous incident

that cemented
the Fouke Monster's

menacing reputation
occurred on May 2, 1971,

when it reportedly attacked
a local man named Bobby Ford.

One of the most sensational

and well-known encounters
with the Fouke Monster

originates at what's known
as the Ford house.

On a Saturday night,
the Ford family started

to hear something
creeping around on the porch.

And all of a sudden,

this big, hairy hand
came in through the window.

Bobby Ford went outside
and shot at it.

(gunshots)

All of a sudden,
something ran out

from beside the house
and attacked him.

He barely managed to escape,

and whatever had happened
shook him up so bad

that they ended up having
to transport him

to the Texarkana Hospital,

where he was treated
for shock and injuries

as a result of this attack.

The Fords found
a strange footprint

which looked large
and somewhat human-like,

yet had three toes.

And so, something very scary

and something
very unexplainable happened.

SHATNER:
The attack on Bobby Ford made headlines

around the country,

due to the sensational nature
of the story,

and because shortly after
it took place,

physical evidence was recovered

which seemed to corroborate
the Ford family's claims.

Following the publicity
around the Ford incident,

a farmer found a track line
of footprints

that went
across a soybean field,

and these tracks
were roughly human-shaped,

yet had three toes.

And this was investigated

by the Miller County
Sheriff's Office,

the game warden,
wildlife officials,

and none of them
could really explain

what the heck
these footprints were.

So, that built credibility
to what the Fords were saying.

SHATNER:
Perhaps what's even more remarkable

than the fact that inexplicable,
three-toed tracks were found

shortly after the Ford incident
is that a plaster cast

of those footprints
can still be seen today

in the Monster Mart.

SHATNER:
While the outside world may be skeptical,

many people in Fouke, Arkansas
remain utterly convinced

that their town
is home to a monster

that is not the stuff
of myth and legend,

but rather flesh and blood.

But there's another
legendary monster

that inspires
nothing but terror,

because it's said to be so evil

that it can drive
ordinary people

to commit... unspeakable acts.

SHATNER:
A group of psychiatrists

from the University of Miami
School of Medicine publish

an intriguing
and unsettling study.

Their report documents
a rare mental illness

that is known
as Windigo Psychosis.

BLACKBURN:
Windigo psychosis is a kind of controversial condition

in which a person
is believed to have

intense cravings
for human flesh.

This could result
from isolation,

lack of food,
in which a person ends up

getting a condition
of high anxiety

that just sort of comes out

in this bizarre
cannibalistic craving.

SHATNER:
While Windigo Psychosis continues to be studied

by medical professionals...

...the name of this
disturbing condition

actually has its origins
in Native American lore.

For centuries, when
native people heard

the word "windigo,"
they understood it to be

not a form of mental illness

but rather a terrifying monster.

The windigo is a creature

that comes to us
from Algonquin tradition.

So the Ojibwe People,

the Cree People right around
the Great Lakes area,

in both the U.S. and in Canada.

This is an area of the world--

the Great Lakes region--
where winters are harsh.

And starvation--
that was a common thing.

The key theme
to the windigo story is

that this is a creature
that eats human beings.

"Windigo" is a word
from the Algonquin language,

which translates into "evil
spirit that devours mankind."

Descriptions of the creature
vary from tribe to tribe,

but in general,
the windigo is a very tall giant

with glowing red eyes,

rows of sharp teeth,
and an extremely long tongue.

Many cultures believe
that the windigo is

the most fearsome
and deadly creature

ever to set foot
in North America.

It has an insatiable hunger
for human flesh.

The more it eats,
the bigger it becomes.

SHATNER:
A skeletal monster that becomes bigger and stronger

with each human it devours?

It's undoubtedly terrifying,
to say the least.

But could the legend of
the windigo actually be true?

Well, according
to Native American tradition,

it is.

And perhaps
the most haunting part

of the legend is that these
hideous creatures were once

human beings.

BLACKBURN:
According to the Native American stories,

the process for somebody
becoming a windigo is either

an evil spirit
possesses the person

and then becomes the windigo

or the person simply

transforms into the monster.

LEWIS:
If you dreamed of the windigo,

that would welcome the windigo
to come and attack you.

So, there were multiple ways

that you could be possessed
by the windigo.

SHATNER:
While Native American legends

of windigo transformations
might be easily dismissed

as parables
rather than real events,

that may not be the case.

Perhaps
the most compelling argument

that windigo possession is
in fact real can be found

by examining the horrific story

of a 19th century Cree trapper
named Swift Runner.

The story of Swift Runner
is one of the most gruesome

and heartbreaking tales
of a person becoming a windigo.

During the winter
of 1878 and '79,

Swift Runner took off
with his family

to their winter hunting grounds.

But then the game disappeared.

Times were tough
and food was scarce.

During this particularly
brutal winter,

he actually killed and ate
his wife and his children.

And according to the story,

Swift Runner been possessed
by the spirit of the windigo.

LEWIS:
Swift Runner said

an evil presence overcame him.

When authorities took him back
to the grounds,

they discovered something
out of a horror movie.

Bones thrown all about,
skulls everywhere.

He was eventually arrested
and sent to Edmonton,

and was hanged
for being a windigo.

SHATNER:
Did Swift Runner commit shocking crimes

because he was possessed
by the windigo,

as some people believed
at the time?

Or was he simply afflicted with
an extreme form of psychosis,

as the modern medical community
now claims?

Just like many tales regarding
monsters of myth and legend,

the truth remains elusive.

The key defining feature
of the windigo

is about cannibalism.

We can see that
as a supernatural creature

or we can see it
as a medical condition.

But as far as anyone can tell,
the windigo psychosis

is pretty specific
to that cultural area.

And there are things known
as culture-bound conditions

that only happen to people from
a given cultural background.

BLACKBURN:
The fact that we have science

referring to the windigo--

it doesn't prove
that the windigo exists,

but it just underscores the fact
that the windigo

has transformed
from Native American tales

to something we're talking about
in modern times.

Is the windigo a real creature
made of flesh and blood

or a menace that dwells
within the human mind?

In either case,
it embodies pure terror.

Not unlike a massive,
winged beast

that, in 1909,
incited such widespread panic

that a $100,000 reward
was offered

to anyone who could slay it.

The hideous monster
was known as...

the snallygaster.

SHATNER:
The residents of this quaint

rural community are shocked
to read an unsettling report

in a local newspaper named
the Middletown Valley Register.

An eyewitness claims

to have seen a gigantic flying
monster soaring in the sky.

The creature appeared
to have bronze wings,

an enormous horned head
and a 20-foot-long tail.

This hideous beast was referred
to as the "snallygaster."

The first documented reports

of the snallygaster started
in 1909.

And then it just kept
getting printed again,

different sightings
throughout the area,

mischief that it was causing.

It was described
as this dragon-like creature

with a beak and tentacles
and razor-sharp claws

and all kinds
of terrifying things.

And then it escalated from,

"I saw it flying
over the mountain" to

"It killed my chickens
and destroyed part of my barn."

So it definitely escalated
into a frenzy where people

were truly afraid.

LEWIS:
In 1909, people of Frederick County

were seeing the snallygaster
everywhere.

It was out in farm fields,
it was crossing roads,

people were taking shots at it.

- (bird squawks)
- (gunshot)

They would say that
their bullets would bounce off

of its skin as though
it had a scale-like armor.

SHATNER:
Newspaper coverage about the snallygaster

terrorized people
throughout Frederick County.

But the panic escalated

when a report surfaced
that the winged freak

had actually killed

a human being.

There is one death
blamed on the snallygaster.

It was a Middletown man
named Bill Gifferson.

People found the body,

had no idea how this happened,

and eyewitnesses
said that it was

a snallygaster that got hold
of him in the night.

GERHARD:
Allegedly, the gentleman was scooped up,

his jugular vein bitten
by the creature,

drained of his blood,

and his body was discarded
on a hillside.

COOPER:
Bill Gifferson's death actually led

to more horrifying
kind of media coverage,

telling people to stay inside
and to be afraid

and watch out for it.

And especially once it got dark.

SHATNER:
As reports of the snallygaster circulated,

the monster famously
drew the attention

of a very powerful person
who loved to hunt big game.

The 26th president
of the United States:

Theodore Roosevelt.

McNEILL: Teddy Roosevelt

was ready to pick up his gun
and go down and shoot it.

He was ready to cancel trips
he already had planned

to take on this creature.

Now, in the end,
Teddy Roosevelt said,

"I don't need
to march to Maryland

and kill this thing
myself anymore."

But it was a big deal
when it happened.

SHATNER:
It's easy to assume

that the frenzy
surrounding the snallygaster

in 1909 was simply the result
of mass hysteria.

But the history of this part
of Maryland suggests

that the truth
may be far more intriguing.

Because, during the 1700s,

German colonists
living in this area

also reported
a fearsome winged creature.

Although, back then,

the snallygaster had
a slightly different name.

The idea
of the snallygaster originated

with the German immigrants
who made their way

to the Maryland area
in the 1700s.

They had called this thing
the Schneller Geist,

a fast spirit or quick ghost,
as they called it.

Eventually,
that became corrupted

into the "snallygaster."

It was thought
to be a deadly monster.

And people feared it
for a hundred and some years

before it was ever mentioned
in any known written account.

SHATNER:
It's fascinating to trace the history

of the Schneller Geist
in colonial times

to the snallygaster in 1909.

However, you might think that
as the 20th century progressed,

modern people
would stop panicking

over this alleged monster.

But, in fact,
it was just the opposite,

because in 1932,

it appears that
the snallygaster returned

to terrorize this community.

In 1932,
the sightings began again.

We had a lot more people
going out and hunting

for the snallygaster.

News coverage made its way
even further,

even down to Washington, D.C.

This was not a small,
localized story.

This was a story that went big.

The Smithsonian offered $100,000

for proof
of this creature's existence.

The Smithsonian Institute,

who, if they don't
grant gravitas to a story,

I don't know who does.

SHATNER:
What are we to make of the numerous occasions

in which the snallygaster
has incited widespread panic?

Ultimately, it's hard to say
whether sightings

of the monster
were genuine encounters

or simply the product
of mass hysteria.

But one thing is certain:

the snallygaster
continues to loom large

in the history
of Frederick County, Maryland.

When I moved to Maryland,

I started researching
local folk legends,

and the snallygaster
really caught my eye

because it was such
a big part of history.

So I go to local businesses
and paranormal conventions

and things like that,
to just speak

about the folk history
of Maryland

and how it ties
into the snallygaster.

And even in modern times,

there are people
that live out there

that hear and see strange things

that could be considered
the snallygaster.

So, the fact that this legend
has persisted throughout time

definitely means that it could
still be around to this day.

SHATNER:
Whether or not the snallygaster actually exists,

it remains fascinating
from an historical perspective.

But halfway around the world,
off the coast of Australia,

some believe
that a giant sea monster lurks

in the depths of the ocean.

And remarkably,
there may be scientific proof

of this formidable predator.

SHATNER:
The deep waters of the Pacific Ocean just

off the eastern coast
of the land down under

are world famous
for deep sea fishing.

Here, fisherman regularly
catch a variety of marine life,

including marlin, swordfish,

and even sharks.

But in March of 2019,
an unusual incident took place

when a local fisherman hooked

a 550-pound Mako shark
on his line.

As he hauled it into his boat,
the only thing left...

was a severed head.

The rest of
the massive shark's body

had apparently been devoured
by an even larger--

and unidentified--
ocean predator.

Pictures went viral
of this mako shark

just absolutely decimated
from the head down.

There was so much mystery
surrounding this

because looking at
this picture of this mako--

this thing looks humongous.

It seriously did cause
some speculation

as to what kind of mega
predator could have caused

a bite this big

on such a huge shark.

SHATNER:
What animal could be so large and so ferocious

that it literally
ripped a shark to shreds?

As news outlets
around the world reported

on the story,
an extraordinary theory emerged.

Is it possible that
this violent encounter

was the work
of a real-life sea monster?

It may sound like
an outlandish notion

but the surprising truth is

that this is not
the first inexplicable attack

that has been recorded
off the coast of Australia.

In fact, scientists
have been actively searching

for an elusive
and monstrous predator

in these waters since 2003.

In 2003,
I was involved with Australia's

premier scientific
organization, the CSIRO.

They had started a satellite
tagging program to better

understand the movement
patterns of great white sharks.

We tagged four or five
great white sharks,

and one of them in particular,

Shark Alpha, was around nine,
ten feet in length.

No small animal by any
stretch of the imagination.

About two months later,
the tag showed

this shark had been chased down

the continental shelf edge,

down to a depth
of around 2,000 feet,

where it appeared to have been
devoured by something.

And that something had
an internal temperature of

around 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

And that temperature, regardless
of where the tag went then,

the depth, that temperature
stayed relatively constant.

It was a bubble
of temperature showing

it was inside
the stomach of something.

What that could be,
we don't know.

But the proportions
it would have to have

to eat a great white
is colossal.

It would have to be massive.

You're really starting to stray

into the realm of
the unbelievable.

So that leaves the kind of

uncomfortable notion of:
what is it?

SHATNER:
It's alarming to think that there could be a giant

sea monster lurking in the deep

that can swallow
a great white shark whole.

Nevertheless,
some scientists claim that

even more evidence of
a fearsome sea creature

lies in the strange
behavior of marine life

off the coast of Australia.

FANARA:
In 2023, a number of pilot whales

beached themselves on
the shores of Western Australia.

These whales were huddled
in an unusual way.

People got some of these whales
back out to the water,

but they came right back in
and beached themselves again.

What the reason was
remains a mystery.

One of the theories
is that this pod of whales

was escaping something,
was running away from something.

Now, if it was a great white
coming towards a pod of whales,

there's power in numbers.

They wouldn't beach
themselves over that.

So it couldn't have been just
a regular great white shark.

There's no way.

But if it was something

about 65 feet long... maybe.

RIGGS:
Is there something else that's in the food chain

that is literally
frightening them to shore?

Is it possible
that there is something

out here that we literally
haven't seen before?

That's the question.

SHATNER:
With so many anomalous incidents happening

in the waters off Australia,
it naturally begs the question,

are they all connected?

Is there a giant sea monster
that can bite

a mako shark in half,

swallow a great white whole,

and send a horde of whales
fleeing for their lives?

The truth is that,
for the moment, scientists

are at a loss for answers.

And for many,
the possibility that there are

monstrous, undiscovered
creatures in the unexplored

depths of the ocean
should not be dismissed.

When you take into
consideration that we literally

don't know very much
about the ocean,

we only have mapped
something like 20% of it,

and we've only seen something
like one or two percent of it,

there could be things
hiding out here

that we've never seen before.

SHATNER:
If there is a nightmarish monster that inhabits

the ocean's depths, we can
take comfort that it hasn't yet

claimed any human victims,
at least as far as we know.

But there's another creature
that is said to inhabit

the remote deserts
of California,

which is even more frightening

because it has
reportedly attacked

unsuspecting people.

SHATNER:
This rustic town, located in the Mojave Desert,

is adjacent to
Joshua Tree National Park.

Each year, millions of
people visit Joshua Tree

to hike through its twisting
expanse of boulders

and oddly shaped trees.

But unfortunately
many adventure seekers

who trek into this wilderness
never return.

BLACKBURN:
On occasion, human remains have been found

out in the area of
the Joshua Tree National Park,

and these are presumably hikers

who have gone missing
over the years.

So, while it's a beautiful,
striking-looking place,

it's also very secluded
and very dangerous.

SHATNER:
It's easy to see how tourists hiking in Joshua Tree

could get lost and
fall victim to the scorching

temperatures of this desert
environment.

However, some locals
believe that mysterious

deaths in the park
are the work of

a frightening monster,
who is referred to

as the Yucca Man.

The Yucca Man is seen
in the southern regions

of the California area.

Sightings of the Yucca Man
date back to at least the 1960s.

It's described as being
very tall,

covered in hair
over its entire body.

CHRISTOPHER BADER:
The Yucca Man is what you might call a desert-based Bigfoot.

People go missing
in the Yucca Valley

and its various campgrounds.

Part of the evolving lore of
this creature is, perhaps it is

preying on humans when it finds
people who are vulnerable.

SHATNER:
The idea that a giant monster roams this remote area

and preys upon unsuspecting
hikers is chilling.

But according to local lore,
another fearsome encounter

involving the Yucca Man

allegedly took place at a nearby
U.S. Marine Corps Base.

One of the more famous
Yucca Man encounters occurred

in 1971 at the
Twentynine Palms Marine Base.

A marine was on night duty

and encountered
this eight-foot-tall

blond Sasquatch creature.

He then became unconscious,
and when he was found,

his rifle was bent in half
with no explanation.

He was unharmed, but it's pretty
scary to think of a Marine being

knocked unconscious and
a rifle being bent in half.

SHATNER:
While it's impossible to verify the Yucca Man's

alleged run-ins
with military personnel,

many locals are convinced
that this dangerous creature

actually lives in
the Mojave Desert.

And like other monsters
that have been

widely reported by eyewitnesses

but not officially
recognized by science,

the possibility of its existence

both tantalizes and terrifies.

We love believing
in these creatures

and monsters because
we love getting scared.

But we also love the unknown.

Not knowing if we've

discovered every species
on the planet.

The mystery is
the best part of it all.

McNEILL:
We are often inclined to see belief in

fantastical creatures
as somewhat irrational,

maybe fantastical.

Something that isn't scientific.

And yet there's news reports
of people

interacting with creatures
that maybe we can't identify.

That keeps it alive. It is not
fundamentally proven false.

And that kind of monster
is what we are continuing

- to be obsessed with.
- (creature shrieks)

From frightening encounters
with the Fouke Monster

to supernatural stories
about the Jersey Devil

and panicked reports
of the snallygaster,

it can seem like our world is
literally teeming with monsters.

And while physical proof is hard
to come by, the sheer number of

eyewitness accounts suggests
that we share our planet with

dreadful creatures
that remain unidentified

and... unexplained.

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